Gunstock with its butt portion laterally offset from the barrel axis



L. A. FLOREK IIH ITS BUTT PORTI OM THE BA June 14 3 ,402 ,499 ON LATERALLY RREL AXIS Sept. 24, 1968 GUNSTOC O ET FR Filed INVENTOR. 1.00/5- 4. F2 QREK rqrrommay United States Patent Office 3,402,499 Patented Sept. 24, 1968 3,402,499 GUNSTOCK WITH ITS BUTT PORTION LATERALLY OFFSET FROM THE BAR- REL AXIS Louis A. Florek, 1054 23rd Ave. SE., Minneapolis, Minn. 55414 Filed June 14, 1967, Ser. No. 646,044

' 1 Claim. (Cl. 42-71) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A stock for a shoulder-piece firearm which has its butt portion laterally offset from the barrel axis and which is provided with a recessed cheek rest on the side opposite the offset to enable the shooter to position his head against the stock with the eye opposite his shooting arm in sighting alignment with the barrel.

Background of the invention This invention relates generally to shoulder supported firearms such as rifles and shotguns and particularly the stocks on such arms.

It is not uncommon for a game hunter or trapshooter to desire to continue his activity in the sport after the vision in one eye has, for some reason, been lost or greatly reduced. A problem arises where the loss of this faculty occurs in his normal shooting eye. A right-handed shooter will norm-ally use his right eye for sighting the target along the barrel of a shoulder-piece firearm. Conversely, a left-handed shooter will use his left eye. Inasmuch as it is very difficult for a person of extensive shooting experience to change shooting hands to use his better eye for sighting when the sight in the other has been diminished or lost, it is desirable that a means be provided for modifying the gun structure to allow sighting with the good eye.

In prior art structures gunstocks have been laterally curved or offset from the barrel axis to provide a more convenient and comfortable shoulder mounting. Such structures are disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 959,069, dated May 24, 1910, to Powers, and No. 2,161,498, dated June 6, 1939, to Anderson. These stocks, however, fail to provide for left eye sighting by a righthanded shooter or vice versa.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a shoulder-piece firearm with a stock which is so configured as to properly transmit the firearm recoil to the shoulder and yet allow the barrel to be accurately sighted by the shooters eye opposite from the mounting shoulder.

With this and other objects in view the invention broadly comprises a stock for a shoulder-piece firearm wherein the butt portion of the stock is laterally offset from the axis of the firearm barrel and with said stock having a recessed cheek rest on the side opposite from the direction of said butt portion offset.

Drawings FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a shotgun incorporating the present invention shown shouldered in shooting position for sighting by the left eye of a right-handed shooter.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the gun.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gunstock with the shooters cheek rest position denoted in broken lines.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the gunstock from the left side.

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through the stock taken on line 55 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a vertical section through the stock taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

'Referring now more particularly to the drawing reference numerals will be used to denote like parts or structural features in the different views. The gun denoted generally at 10 has a barrel 11 of conventional construction extending forwardly from the trigger section 12. Front and rear sights denoted respectively at 14 and 15 are mounted in longitudinal alignment on the top of barrel 11. These sights are preferably raised slightly from the normal elevation over the barrel to aid the shooter in aiming the gun when modified as hereinafter described.

The stock denoted generally at 16 is connected to the breech end of the barrel 11 at 17. The front major portion 18 of the length of the stock extends rearwardly from the barrel along the longitudinal vertical plane of the barrel axis. Near its rear or extended end the stock is angled rather sharply to one side as at 19. The terminal or butt portion 20 of the stock then extends parallel to the portion 18. The end of the stock is provided with a conventional shoulder fitting butt plate 21.

The side of stock 16 opposite from the side to which the portion 20 is offset is provided with a carved out cheek recess 24. This recess extends laterally of the stock in a diagonal direction from the top of the stock to the medial area of the left side of the stock, in the embodiment shown. In a fore-aud-aft direction the recess is concave, being rather shallow near the rear end of the stock, as shown in the cross section of FIG. 5, and reaching a substantial depth just forward of the center thereof, as shown in the cross section of FIG. 6. Also, the top edge of the recess angles slightly toward the left in its rearward extension, as denoted by the broken line A-A.

Use of the gun by a right-handed shooter is shown in FIG. 1. It will be observed that the offset butt portion 20 of the stock combined with the cheek rest 24 provide room for the shooters head to rest against the stock inwardly behind barrel 11 in such a position as to allow the left eye to align the elevated sights 14 and 15 with the target or anticipated position of the target. The check position against the stock is denoted by broken lines in FIG. 3.

The offset 20, combined with the longitudinal contour of rest 24 as denoted by line A-A, provides for transfer of the recoil away from the face and to the shooters shoulder at a more comfortable point spaced outwardly from the neck a greater distance than normal. In other words, the stock will tend to move slightly sidewise away from the head during recoil.

A conventional shotgun or rifle stock may be modified to the construction shown by cutting off the stock butt portion which is to form the portion 20 along a line BB of FIG. 3. This portion is then reattached to the stock at its laterally offset position. The angled portion 19 is then filled in with some suitable material and sanded down to form a smooth connection between the stock portions 18 and 20 at the right side of the stock. Also the rear left side portion of the stock, denoted at 25 in FIG. 3, is cut away to form a smooth joining surface at the left side thereof.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claim. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shoulder-piece firearm having an elongated barrel and a stock mounted at the end thereof, said stock extending for the major portion of its length from the barrel on the vertical plane of the barrel axis then angling laterally to a butt portion disposed on a second vertical plane parallel to but offset from said first mentioned vertical plane, a pair of aligned sights mounted in longitudinally spaced elevated positions on the barrel, said stock having a cutout check rest recess on the side opposite from the offset butt portion, said recess extending in a lateral direction from the top of the stock to the medial area of the side of the stock and in a fore-and-after direction being concave and extending along the stock opposite and just forward of the laterally angling portion of the stock whereby said elevated sights and offset stock 10 his shoulder on the side of said butt portion to position his head against the stock with his eye opposite from said shoulder in said line of sight alignment.

713,254 11/ 1902 Thorneycroft. 1,393,812 10/1921 Mousseaux 4271 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

